Corona discharge ionizer devices are commonly used for controlling the presence of electrostatic charge in manufacturing environments involving sensitive components, such as in the semiconductor and data storage device industries. Corona discharge ionizers employ a number of emitter tips that, when energized with a sufficiently high voltage, create a corona discharge. The corona discharge is an ion cloud having a charge established by the polarity of the voltage. In many cases a non-hydrogen fluid stream is passed over the emitter tips in order to direct and advance the ion stream in order to statically charge or discharge a work piece. However, problems exist in the current state and use of corona discharge ionizers.
One problem is the tendency for precipitating ammonium nitrate on the emitter tip. In order for the tip to effectively create the corona discharge, the emitter tip must remain clean, sharp, and electrically conductive. Such a buildup reduces the tip's effectiveness in creating the corona discharge. Regularly scheduling maintenance activities to clean or replace the emitter tips can be a costly and unworkable production interruption.
Another problem is associated with bursts of submicron particles coming from the emitter tips that can be introduced into the manufacturing environment. In some cases the contamination comes from sputtering of the material from which the emitter tip is manufactured; in other cases the contamination is particles of the ammonium nitrate precipitation.
While various approaches have been proposed in the art to address the contamination that can be introduced into the manufacturing process by emitter tips, there nevertheless remains a continued need for improvements in the art. It is to such improvements that the claimed invention is directed.